


you're somewhere, i'm nowhere

by orangeshoe



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Mutual Pining, and shiro is assumed to know but really he's just a piney nub, fluffy feels, i just love lance being perceptive but acting dumb, it's 2017 and yes im still saying feels, tiny crush feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 10:58:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9892388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orangeshoe/pseuds/orangeshoe
Summary: “Starstruck” doesn’t even begin to describe it, and Lance is more than happy to welcome this star to come crashing down onto his earth.Maybe the star wants to be there, too.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to do a little character/relationship exploration for these two, so nothing plotty here. I think they're a really interesting ship and pretty underrated, especially since the show doesn't give them enough interaction considering how stoked Lance was when they found Shiro in season one! Also Lance is a super underdeveloped character in the show so I wanted to try to get situated with him before I tried writing something serious.
> 
> Un-beta'd, so feel free to leave (constructive) comments and stuff. Thank you!

“Starstruck” doesn’t even begin to describe it. Any of it, really. Any of.. This. This big, hot mess of what the heck (quiznak?) ever is happening, but Lance finds himself swept up in every inch of it. He lets himself sneak the quick glances over his shoulder as he stretches, and he still can’t believe he’s there. _Takashi Shirogane_ , his all-time, number one, top notch idol, is there with him, and they’re working together on a team. With a whole bunch of other dudes, sure, but Shiro was--is--a legend. Lance knew all about him, his birthday, his favorite subjects in school, what teachers he got along with, and all the little stories and tidbits that came along with it.

There was Professor Eleanor who told him about the first time Shiro aced a paper and the adorable confident yet shy look on his face, and then Sergeant Ly who could only recall the time the entire class caught Shiro slipping on a puddle outside and nearly landing on his ass. Moments Lance had only dreamt of witnessing, if not just to really know that this guy is real. But now.. Here he is. He looks different, yet still everything he’d dreamt.

God, you’re creepy, Lance. Get a grip. He’s always been a real guy. This is real. ... _Buuut_ that doesn’t mean he can’t still oogle at him every now and again.

They’re casual, for sure. The entire team just seemed to click, with Hunk, Pidge and Lance having been pretty much friends, and apparently Keith and Shiro knew each other, too. Didn’t really know about that before, but you learn something new every day.. Luckily Keith doesn’t seem to mind (too much) when Lance calls Shiro over for some help with his shooting technique, or to ask about the kinds of ships he piloted, or just about anything. Lance wasn’t the chatty one for nothing. 

“So, you think if I just lock my elbows a little tighter than I can fire easier?” Lance would say, getting into position in the training room. 

He could hear Shiro shuffling beside him, chuckling lightly when Lance made some fake gunfire noises. “Yeah, just a bit. You’re a pretty good natural, but I think if you got a little bit more precision, you’d really be our secret weapon.” 

That made Lance smirk. That was another perk to being on this team. No more were his days of standing in a flood of siblings, trying but eventually giving up on getting attention in his own way. Here, he was Lance McClain, Blue Lion Extraordinaire! And, what’s that? A chance to be the team’s wild card..? _Heck_ yeah, who would pass that up? 

Training seemed to pass almost as quickly as it came, and the adrenaline encouraged Lance to take a leap while they took off their armor. He was feeling good, Shiro looked like he was feeling good, let’s do it. “Hey, you wanna grab a bite to eat or something? You could tell me some more of your awesome stories!” 

Lance was all smiles, but suddenly everything felt so stunningly quiet. He looked back up to his idol, and saw a soft, warm but hesitant smile on his face. “Food sounds great, Lance.” And he would’ve agreed there, but Shiro continued, “Maybe you could tell me some stories this time, though.” Shiro’s helmet shifted in his arms as he began to put it away. “I feel like I’m always the one talking about my boring old days at the Garrison,” and Lance felt embarrassed and a little guilty. 

“Well.. Yeah. I mean, I’ve barely done anything, really, just cargo pilot that got bumped up when Keith went AWOL.. But you! You’ve seen it all--you’ve been out to space!” 

“Need I remind you, we’re both currently in space right now?” Shiro leaned one shoulder against his locker, visibly amused and god it just made Lance want to keep talking to distract himself from just how hot Shiro looked right now. 

“Ha ha, I know, I know--but I meant for exploring! Like--like, I don’t know..” 

“Hey,” Lance’s eyes darted up as he closed his locker, and Shiro pushed off his own as they started to walk. “Don’t sweat it. We can talk about other things than the Garrison, y’know. Like.. What about your family?” 

He offered a humble shrug, but when Shiro nudged him gently he couldn’t help but laugh and tell him all about his siblings, his mom, and home. Sunny beaches, houses that never seem to sleep, water that took at least one full play of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” to get warm (it’s true, he timed it, and it’s a perfect excuse to jam out at least once a day), and car rides that drove him absolutely insane in the best kind of way. Before he knew it, they were already halfway through what looked like a plate of boogers chilled overnight in Jell-O, but tasted like grainy pulverized oatmeal with a hint of some sort of herb that definitely wouldn’t be found in Mom’s spice cupboard, a notion which Shiro seemed to enjoy. 

“Your mom has a cupboard..? My mom just keeps five different bags inside an old instant noodle box,” the clink of Shiro’s spoon was heard definitively being put down on his plate. Lance was still eating though, since he’d done almost all the talking and working out always gave him the appetite of a starved lion (ha). 

“ _Bags??_ How does she know where everything _is_?!” 

“She doesn’t.” And they both laugh at that, feeling so natural and seamless, and Lance still can’t believe it. Sometimes he finds himself avoiding Shiro’s gaze just because it’s so unreal. He thinks of the photos he’s seen in yearbooks, how he’s always imagined getting to meet him someday, and now here he is, sitting and eating with him, and oh god does his hair even look okay? Does he smell? His arm flinches a bit as he’s about to lift and sniff his armpit until no, Lance, that is definitely not an okay thing to do while you’re having dinner with someone you listed as “Person I Want To Grow Up To Be” in the daily planner the school gave you. 

And yet, the more and more time he spends with Shiro, the more he feels like, hey, this is actually _a real person_. This is just a guy who's damn good at what he does, and it got him into this bittersweet adventure. Hearing Shiro even bring up his mom.. what was his family like? Did he miss them? How long had it even been--a year? He'd never asked Shiro anything about his family before.. Did they even have a good relationship? The reality of everything started to settle in his stomach, and he wasn't sure if it was that or the food that finally made him sick. 

“..Lance?” 

He flinches, but not too badly until he meets Shiro’s eyes. They’re questioning, and Lance wonders why until he realizes he was being spoken to while he was so lost in his thoughts. “Oh, uh, sorry dude. What’s up?” His face wears the best smile he can manage, sitting up straight and tall. 

“I have to go now, but, um.” He glances to the table, Lance watching Shiro’s fingers mindlessly fidgeting against the edges of his plate, the gentle slide of his metal arm and the metal plate just barely audible, and Lance wants to ask more questions but Shiro has something to say, so pay attention, damnit! “Maybe we could do this again sometime. I liked--” and that’s when Shiro stops to clear his throat, and also when Lance realizes Shiro’s pale complexion can’t hide the soft red budding at the tops of his ears and spreading to his cheek. Is that.. blushing? “I liked hearing your stories, and spending time with you. It’s good for our team bonding.” 

Lance doesn’t buy it for a second, but his grin is cheshire wide nonetheless. “Yeah, me too, Shiro!” He gets brave again, and gives Shiro’s shoulder a light slap and a squeeze. “Maybe next time I’ll give you some pointers on how to really kick some ass with that arm of yours!” 

The scratch of Shiro’s chair on the floor is blanketed by the sound of Shiro laughing--again, god, who allowed this gorgeous hunk of man to be so humored by every little thing?--and they thank each other as he returns to his room. Which leaves Lance there, staring at his food and feeling his cheeks start to hurt from how big his smile is. 

“Starstruck”, huh..? Maybe he wasn’t the only one. And maybe stars were meant to get grounded down to earth. 


End file.
